Distinguished Fellow: Applicants must provide evidence of at least 150 contact hours of risk management (or related) continuing education credit earned within 10 years prior to the date of application.

Fellow: Applicants must provide evidence of at least 75 contact hours of risk management (or related) continuing education credit earned within five years prior to the date of application.

To be accepted as qualifying continuing education credit, continuing professional education must relate to the content categories identified below:

Content Category

Code

Loss prevention/reduction

1

Claims/litigation management

2

Risk financing

3

Regulatory/accreditation compliance

4

Risk management operations

5

Bioethics

6

Candidates must submit copies of continuing education certificates with their application, with the following information on each certificate:

Name of program

Date of program

Number of contact hours of the program

Content code

A contact hour is defined as 60 minutes of educational experience. The following table provides a conversion of other units of education into contact hours:

1 academic semester credit = 15 contact hours

1 academic quarter credit = 10 contact hours

1 CEU or continuing education unit = 10 contact hours

1 CME or CDE = 1 contact hour

ASHRM may disqualify incomplete continuing education certificates.

Distinguished Fellow: Applicants must possess at least 10 years experience in a position(s) with primary job responsibility for activities related to risk management.

Fellow: Applicants must possess at least five years of experience in a position(s) with primary job responsibility for activities related to risk management.

Note: “Risk management (or related)” includes any function, organization or discipline that has, as its mission or purpose, to reduce or prevent the incidence of speculative or casualty (as opposed to “business”) risks for health care or health care-related organizations.

Documentation must be produced to show experience in risk financing, loss control, claims and litigation, regulatory/accreditation compliance or loss prevention. All applicants for either designation must submit the following documentation of employment experience:

Current Job DescriptionSigned by the individual to whom the applicant reports.

Professional ReferencesTwo letters of reference from professionals familiar with the applicant’s employment history (applicants are encouraged to ask references to submit their reference letters directly to ASHRM).

Employment ExperienceTyped summary of risk management (or related) experience indicating growth of responsibility and authority during the required 10-year (for Distinguished Fellow) or five-year (for Fellow) employment period – summary may be in the form of a descriptive resume or CV.

Distinguished Fellow: Applicants must meet all requirements in all three of the contribution categories listed below: Leadership, Publishing and Lecturing.

Fellow: Applicants must meet all requirements in any two of the contribution categories listed below: Leadership, Publishing and Lecturing.

Note: Routine job responsibility will be defined as “any function, activity, task or responsibility regularly undertaken by an employee in order to maintain employment with the employer.” A “routine job responsibility” may or may not be described in the applicant’s job description. “Employer” shall include any subsidiary or affiliated organizations of the applicant’s employer. Payment of an honorarium or travel expenses by a third party may be evidence that the activity was not a routine job responsibility.

1. LeadershipApplicant must provide at least two examples of risk management-related leadership positions totaling at least four years of service that are not a matter of routine job responsibilities, not held concurrently and that are each at least one year in duration.

Leadership positions must have been completed within 10 years of application. The application must include:

Dates of service

Activities performed

Written verification of title and leadership position held provided by the organizations cited

Leadership positions are positions which involve coordinating or facilitating the work of others. The following are qualified Leadership positions.

The following are examples of activities which are not considered leadershipCommittee MemberFacultyWriterSpeakerLeadership roles related to employmentLeadership in non-health care organizations

Multi-year board terms count as a single position. Offices of president-elect and immediate past president are not counted as separate positions, but are considered part of the office of president. Other examples include: four leadership positions, each one year in duration; two separate positions, each two years each in duration; and one position held for three years and one for one year.

2. PublishingTo meet the publishing requirement, the publishing must be scholarly articles which clearly relate to patient safety and/or risk management; and are peer reviewed with cited resources (e.g., through citations, a bibliography, list of references, etc.).

To meet the publishing criteria, the applicant must:

Be the author or co-author of a book chapter; OR

Be the author of at least two articles published in journals or periodicals with documented circulation exceeding 1,000 readers. The applicant must be the primary author of at least one of the articles.

Articles published as a matter of routine job responsibility will not be accepted. All material submitted must also:

Be published within five years prior to the date the applicant is applying for recognition;

Be related to the field of risk management (cite Content Category Code listed above in continuing Education Criteria section); and

Bear the publication’s name and date of publication.

Many ASHRM publications including: The ASHRM Journal, Pearls, White Papers, playbooks, book chapters and articles written for the ASHRM forum will qualify, however the qualifications above must be met.

3. LecturingApplicant must provide at least two examples of participation as a speaker or faculty member in risk management programs conducted within five years prior to the date the applicant is applying for recognition (cite Content Category Code listed above in Continuing Education Criteria section). At least one presentation must be at national or state level and at least one must offer continuing education credits.

The applicant must provide documentation verifying the purpose or occasion for the lecture or presentation. Acceptable documentation includes either program brochures or correspondence from the programs’ sponsors. Lectures or presentations delivered as a matter of routine job responsibility will not be accepted.

Examples of acceptable activities in this category include:

ASHRM Annual Conference

ASHRM Webinar

ASHRM Faculty

ASHRM Online education

Chapter annual conferences or other education

University education

Presentations at hospitals or other health care societies

All designations of Fellow and Distinguished Fellow are granted by the ASHRM Board based upon review of the applicants’ credentials. Only completed applications will be submitted to the board for its review.

Applicants who submit incomplete applications will be notified regarding the need for further information or documentation.

Completed applications are reviewed by the Board during regular meetings. Applicants approved by the board shall be notified by the ASHRM president; unsuccessful applicants shall be notified by the ASHRM executive director regarding areas in need of improvement.

Successful applicants receive plaques of recognition, and their designations are announced at the annual business meeting. Names, titles and designations also are published in ASHRM publications.

Fellows who wish to advance to the Distinguished Fellow level may at any time submit evidence to ASHRM demonstrating they have met all pertinent achievement criteria. A fee of $50 is required. Applications for advancement will be reviewed, and approved or not approved, by the ASHRM Board according to the established designation process.

*Unsuccessful applicants who reapply for either designation within 12 months of the decision are exempt from the application fee.

Please make payment via check/money order payable to the American Society for Health Care Risk Management. Payment must be submitted separately from the application and supportive materials, and mailed to: American Society for Health Care Risk Management Professional Recognition Program 155 North Wacker Suite 400Chicago, IL 60606

For more information, please contact ASHRM at (312) 422-3980 or ashrm@aha.org.